Contact: Steve Beckwith, Cardinal Glass Industries 260-495-4105
Phillip F. Sparks, Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership 343-1550
B. Clayton Goodman, III, Town of Vinton 983-0607
Doug Chittum, Roanoke County Economic Development 772-2069
Cardinal Glass Industries Chooses Vinton/Roanoke Co. Park for New Facility
VINTON, VA – Cardinal Glass Industries, a Minnesota-based corporation, announced today that it has chosen the Town of Vinton and Roanoke County’s Vinton Business Center as the site of its first Virginia manufacturing facility. The 220,000-square foot facility will manufacture insulating glass. The project is expected to create 70 jobs initially, with a steady ramp up to 200 during the first 30 months of operation. The building has been designed to accommodate a 102,000-square-foot expansion – and 100 additional employees – within five years. The initial investment will be $23.9 million, growing to $31.4 million with the planned Phase II expansion.
Headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN, Cardinal Glass Industries is a vertically integrated producer of high-quality insulated glass for the residential window industry. The company is a primary producer of flat glass and the largest producer of low emissivity coatings in North America. Cardinal operates 16 facilities across the United States and has two additional plants under construction. Cardinal Glass Industries is a U. S. based, privately owned company that has been servicing the residential window industry for more than 40 years.
“Cardinal Glass is very excited about this opportunity in Virginia,” said Roger O’Shaughnessy, president and CEO. “It will allow us to be closer to our customers. It has been through strong partnerships with our customers and close relationships with local communities that Cardinal has become the leader in the residential glass market. It is the sound work ethic of the region and the strong support of state, county and town officials that has brought us to the Roanoke Valley.”
Cardinal Glass is a major supplier to Integrity Windows, which announced a plant location in the Valley in February and is building a major new facility in Roanoke County’s Valley Gateway.
Cardinal is the first company to locate in the Vinton Business Center, a 100-acre park owned by the Town of Vinton, but located in eastern Roanoke County. The two governments have created a unique revenue sharing agreement. The agreement calls for the two parties to share in the cost and revenue of the Vinton Business Center. The two parties will share all tax revenues in perpetuity based on their contribution for the development costs. Cardinal considered a number of sites in the southeastern United States, including a site the company owns in Mooresville, NC.
“We are pleased to welcome Cardinal Glass as the Town of Vinton’s newest corporate citizen, and as the first company in our new park, said Vinton Mayor Donald Davis. “This is just the type of company we hoped to attract when we developed the Vinton Business Center.”
“The level of cooperation that exists between Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton helped make this announcement possible,” said Elmer Hodge, Roanoke County Administrator. “I hope it will set a standard for cooperation across the Commonwealth, just as Cardinal will set the standard for the type of high-quality companies we hope to attract to Vinton and Roanoke County.”
“Cardinal Glass’s choice of a Roanoke Valley location demonstrates the region’s attractiveness as a preferred expansion location,” said Phillip F. Sparks, Executive Director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership.
The company was aided in its decision by the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, the Town of Vinton, Roanoke County, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Workforce Services Program. The company will benefit from a state and local incentive package of more than $1,310,000, which includes a $300,000 Governor’s Opportunity Fund grant and approximately $120,000 in job training funds from Workforce Services, as well as more than $890,000 in local incentives. The Town of Vinton and Roanoke County will provide utility extensions/connections, road infrastructure improvements and an economic development grant to offset development-related costs.
The Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership markets Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke Counties, Roanoke, Salem, and Vinton to new and expanding industry. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Partnership has assisted expansions and locations representing $914.4 million in new investment and 11,600 direct new jobs in the region since its inception.